A master storyteller and one of the world’s leading paleontologists working on early life will give a free public lecture on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Dr. Martin Brasier, a professor of Palaeobiology with the University of Oxford and an adjunct professor with Memorial’s Department of Earth Sciences, will delve deep into the dark ages of the Precambrian to explore Darwin's lost world.

Interweaving engaging accounts of cutting-edge science with colourful and amusing anecdotes of his expeditions, Dr. Brasier will decode the evidence in ancient rocks to piece together the puzzle of the Cambrian Explosion.

Dr. Brasier has worked closely with NASA concerning fieldwork on Mars and the earliest signs of life on Earth, on which his research is focused. He chaired the international commission that established the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary and is the author of over 200 research papers; the founding author of Microfossils, the standard text on the subject; and co-editor of The Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary.

His latest book, Darwin’s Lost World: The Hidden History of Animal Life, was published on Feb. 12 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birthday, a date which also marked the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s own book, On the Origin of the Species.

Dr. Brasier’s lecture will take place Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. in the S. J. Carew (Engineering) Building, EN-1040.

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For more information, please contact Kelly Foss, communications co-ordinator, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, at (709) 737-2019 or kfoss@mun.ca. Media can reach Dr. Brasier directly at (709) 631-0287.